Information is Power

In Picture; Hon Ayaka Rose, Woman MP Maracha District. Photo Credit, Osuta Yusuf. MATTER OF NATIONAL IMPORTANCE. By Hon. Woman Member of Parliament for Maracha district, Hon. Rose Atima Ayaka. SUBJECTS: 1. CONNECTION OF WESTNILE REGION ON THE NATIONAL GRID TO ACCESS HIGH ENERGY OF 132 KVA. 2. RURAL ELECTRIFICATION IN WESTNILE REGION. Rt. Hon Speaker, the process of connection of Westnile Region on the National Grid of Electricity so as to transmit strong/high voltage Electricity that allows industrial use has been delayed with allegations of attempt to divert part of the money meant for the project. The reliable information available indicates that the planned 132 KVA is secretly been altered to transmit either 33 or 66 KVA of Electricity. The Substation to be constructed in Muni too is not on progress. No compensation of land owners from Odiayanyadri to Bondo has  never been done.What is happening? Can this house be informed? Rt. Hon. Speaker, this matter is causing a lot ...

David Bahati addresses media. Parliament has approved a request by government to borrow up to Euro162 million from the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) to finance supply of power to industrial parks. The loan was approved during the plenary sitting chaired by Deputy Speaker, Jacob Oulanyah on Thursday, 30 January 2020. The loan according to State Minister for Finance in charge of Planning, Hon David Bahati is aimed at boosting the private entrepreneurs to put up factories, one of the key targets of Uganda’s National Development Plan III. Bahati explained that there are already factories such as those in Kapeeka and Mbale Industrial parks awaiting power to take off. “If you go to Kapeeka, Mbale or Sukulu industrial parks , factories are ready; they need power to industrialize our country,” he said adding that, “yesterday, we debated in support to industrialize the private sector when we honoured Amina Hersi. This is one way to industrialize our country.” He said th...

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Facebook is one of the world's biggest advertising platforms, and that's because it knows a lot about you, me, and everyone. Facebook uses many tools to track people across the Internet, whether they have an account with the social networking site or not, and most of them rely on the online activity data other apps and websites share with Facebook. Everything we do online generates an extensive amount of behavioral data, from buying clothes to looking for hotels, which apps and websites often share with advertising companies, allowing them to build more accurate profiles of your interests and needs. However, after facing worldwide criticism over privacy and data breach controversies, Facebook last summer announced a privacy tool, called Off-Facebook Activity, which gives users more control of their data collected by Facebook. Starting on 29-January-2020 Data Privacy Day, the Off-Facebook Activity feature is now available to every user around the world, which was...

Hon. Akol Kilak county MP in amuru district approached Hon Otto in the lobby and asked why Honourable Otto was telling his voters not to vote for him. Hon Otto had earlier over the weekend addressed a rally in the disputed Lakang land in amuru and told voters hon Akol and Chairman LCV had recieved over 300million from govt after selling land to government. Hon otto responded" Indeed he said it and its true Hon Akol sold  land of the poor people in apaa." Hon Akol said it was "his land he sold." Hon otto replied "i went to prison to protect poor peoples land then you and MP sells it". Hon Akol immediately said "I will act mad now" and punched Hon Otto in the head. It took the intervention of gulu manucipality  MP leander komakech to hold Hon Akol from the second punch. police intervened and sergeant and arms called for ambulance to rush Hon.Otto to nakasero hospital.

Kagame speaking to foreign diplomats in Kigali on Wednesday 29 January 2020. President Kagame has said Rwanda will only open her borders with Uganda if they feel comfortable to do so. Kagame said no amount of pressure or manipulation of reality can push Rwanda into fully opening borders. Kigali accuses Uganda of supporting Rwandan rebels, arresting and harassment of Rwandan nationals and economic sabotage. As a result, Rwanda has since February 2019, imposed a trade embargo on Uganda and stopped her citizens from crossing over to Uganda. On its part, Kampala accuses Kigali of slapping a trade embargo on Uganda; aggressive espionage; closing the Gatuna border; uprooting prominent Ugandans from the Rwandan economy and orchestrating a hate campaign against Uganda and its officials. Kagame made the remarks on Wednesday at the annual Diplomatic Luncheon he hosted at state house in Kigali and attended by diplomats and representatives of International organizations designated to Rwand...

Over Fifty years ago Uganda was the "Pearl of Africa," a newly independent republic with a thriving economy, a functioning democracy and splendid national parks. It was the place to take a safari holiday -- floating down the crocodile-flanked Nile, fishing on Lake Victoria, wandering among the elephant herds of Queen Elizabeth National Park or listening to the roar of mighty Murchison Falls. With films like "African Queen" shot on location there, Uganda was also a Hollywood darling. Then all hell broke loose. Four decades of violence, political turmoil and economic collapse that started with the bloodthirsty reign of Idi Amin (the self-proclaimed President for Life, Conqueror of the British Empire and Last King of Scotland) and ended with the religious psychopath Joseph Kony and his Lord's Resistance Army. And it wasn't just the people who suffered: Uganda's animal populations declined precipitously during the troubles as the various ragtag guerr...

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Ministry of Finance officials have broken the ice on how the Government intends to borrow money to finance the 2021 general elections. On Thursday, state minister for Finance David Bahati and Kenneth Mugambe, the ministry’s director for budget, told the committee on legal and parliamentary affairs in Parliament that they plan to use part of the Euros 600m (sh2.4 trillion) proposed loan from Stanbic Bank to foot the Electoral Commission (EC) budget shortfall of sh518b to conduct the upcoming 2021 General elections. Last week, the EC chairperson, Justice Simon Byabakama and secretary-general Sam Rwakoojo, while appearing before the same committee gave an ultimatum to the Government to avail sh518.9b this financial year or risk having no elections in 2021. Bahati’s revelation took the legislators aback, who wondered how that could be possible, given that Uganda is already drowning in debts. “Is it correct for a sovereign government to borrow for the purpose of elections?” Bugwere ...

The United Nations heavily criticized the Vatican on Wednesday for what it said was a systematic adoption of policies allowing priests to rape and sexually abuse tens of thousands of children. The devastating report published by the U.N. Committee on the Rights of a Child said the Vatican must "immediately remove" all known or suspected child abusers within the clergy. It said the Holy See had "systematically placed preservation of the reputation of the church and the alleged offender over the protection of child victims." In response, the Vatican said in a statement published on its website that some points made in the report were an "attempt to interfere with Catholic Church teaching." The Vatican said it would examine the report thoroughly and reiterated its commitment to defending and protecting child rights in accordance with the U.N. guidelines and "the moral and religious values offered by Catholic doctrine." The U.N.'s conclus...

The Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, has lamented that the richest man in Africa is from Nigeria and ironically, the country “is also the poverty capital of the world”. According to him, Nigeria had no basis for spending $3billion to $4billion annually on fuel subsidy. Speaking at the launch of “From Frying Pan to Fire”, written by the Chairman of ThisDay Editorial Board, Mr. Olusegun Adeniyi in Abuja on Thursday, Sanusi claimed Nigeria is now the headquarters of poverty in the world. The monarch said: “If you come to Abuja Airport, it is filled with private jets. If you land in Abuja you will think Nigeria is a very rich country. We have beautiful roads and bridges; we have everything in Abuja. “Go to the rural areas and see the large number of Nigerians there. It is a completely different world. It is a sad case and we need to deal with that. We must also remember that the discourse is not just a humanitarian discourse and it is not value-free.” He also spoke of a mismanag...

General  Ndayishimiye Aged 52, also heads the department of military affairs in the president’s office and has served as minister of the interior and security. Burundi’s ruling party, the CNDD-FDD, picked its secretary general, Evariste Ndayishimiye, as its candidate in a presidential election scheduled for May, it said on Sunday. Ndayishimiye, 52, also heads the department of military affairs in the president’s office and has served as minister of the interior and security. Current President Pierre Nkurunziza will not seek re-election. Nkurunziza’s decision to run for a third, five-year term in 2015 sparked widespread protests and violence. His party has welcomed his decision to stand down, conferring on him the title of “Supreme Guide of Patriotism” and lavish send-off perks including a villa worth $530,000. Burundi is one of the world’s poorest countries and lost donor funding after the political violence following the 2015 election. Its GDP per capita was $270 per perso...

CP Fred Enanga spokesperson of Uganda Police Force told journalists that Police has started a Nationwide registration of Boda Bodas and so far 150000 have been registered. Following recent incidents in which some local musicians have been attacked by the public while performing on stage, police has come out and advised event organizers and music promoters on ways to stop such scenarios from happening again. Police, who are currently investigating some of these attack incidents; told promoters to temporarily stop staging concerts with some artists whom they know are not liked by the public. “It is very easy as an organizer; if you’re planning an event, carry out research and find out who are the entertainers that you want to come to your event so that you don’t go into issues of disorder and hooliganism where by people start hurling plastic bottles and chairs,” said Fred Enanga, the police spokesperson on Monday. Enanga says they the Police has decided to issue this timely warni...

The iPhone of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, the world's richest man, was reportedly hacked in May 2018 after receiving a WhatsApp message from the personal account of Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, the Guardian newspaper revealed today. Citing unnamed sources familiar with digital forensic analysis of the breach, the newspaper claimed that a massive amount of data was exfiltrated from Bezos's phone within hours after he received a malicious video file from the Saudi prince. The mysterious file was sent when crown prince Salman and Bezos were having a friendly WhatsApp conversation, and it's 'highly probable' that it exploited an undisclosed zero-day vulnerability of WhatsApp messenger to install malware on Bezos's iPhone. "The forensic analysis found that within hours of receipt of the MP4 video file from the Crown Prince's account, massive and (for Bezos' phone) unprecedented exfiltration of data from the phone began, ...

Attorney General William Byaruhanga Allegations of the impropriety of the acquisition of land in Kampala by Mesas Pine Investments have been termed false and baseless by the Attorney General, Hon William Byaruhanga. According to the Attorney General, the allegations made by Kawempe North MP, Hon. Latif Ssebagala, in December related to improper acquisition of school land in Kampala are false. “On 18 December 2019, Hon. Ssebagala claimed that land on  plot 5B McKinnon road and plot 32 Kyadondo road, owned by Pine Investments Limited, a company in which I hold an interest, was ‘part of Nakasero Primary School land and that it was taken under unclear circumstances and that they (Pine Investments) are selling it back to the Government,” Byaruhanga said. Following the allegations by Hon Ssebagala, the Speaker directed the Prime Minister to investigate the matter and present a report to Parliament. However, Byaruhanga said that during that period, the company withdrew its partici...

According to Katuntu, the current practice of some female politicians seeking for elective offices in Parliament for 20 years defeats the purpose of empowering women. PHOTO: Abdu Katuntu Former shadow attorney general, Abdu Katuntu (Bugweri County) has called for the imposition of term limits on women lawmakers on affirmative action in order to realise the aims of the framers of the 1995 constitution. According to Katuntu, a one-time chairperson of the Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises, the current practice of some female politicians seeking for elective offices in Parliament for 20 years defeats the purpose of empowering women. Katuntu made the remarks Thursday, while reacting to Wilfred Niwagaba’s justification for his Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2019. The piece of legislation which is a private member’s Bill is proposing a number of constitutional amendments as envisaged by the 2016 Supreme Court ruling in Amama Mbabazi vs Yoweri Museveni. Acco...

President Museveni (L), with Muammar Gaddafi (R) in 2008 during Gaddafi's visit to Uganda. President Yoweri Museveni has blamed African countries for failing to protect Libya from foreign attack, saying Africa had the potential (even militarily) to resist the assault by Western powers. In October 2011, former Libyan leader, Muammar Gaddafi was assassinated by rebel groups backed by NATO, a military alliance between 29 North American and European countries. Gaddafi’s killing followed the 2011 Arab Spring characterized by protests against widespread corruption and unemployment broke out in eastern Libya. The situation descended into civil war, in which NATO intervened militarily on the side of the anti-Gaddafist National Transitional Council (NTC). The government was overthrown, and Gaddafi retreated to Sirte, only to be captured and killed by NTC militants. While speaking to the BBC in London this week, Uganda’s President Museveni said African countries should not have allow...

On the sidelines of the UK-Africa Investment Summit, i addressed the Uganda - UK Business Forum organized by UK Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy to Uganda Lord Dolar Popat and made a case for Uganda as a viable investment destination that is very ready to welcome investors from UK. The Business Forum brought together over 70 business executives, representatives of companies and firms interested in doing business as well as investing in Uganda. On top of the people of having been ranked the most friendly and highly entrepreneurial country, Uganda is secure, has very good climate, and its economy also offers high returns on investment thus making Uganda your preferred investment destination.

The technical head of the ministry (permanent secretary) Brigadier Jacob Kingu has tendered in his resignation following the issue. Tanzania’s President John Magufuli has fired the country’s Home Affairs Minister Alphaxard Lugola for allegedly signing a multi-million dollar contract without approval from finance ministry and other relevant authorities. The technical head of the ministry (permanent secretary) Brigadier Jacob Kingu has tendered in his resignation over the matter. Magufuli also sacked the commissioner general for Tanzania Fire and Rescue Services Thobias Andengenye over the suspicious deal. The contract relates to a project for the Tanzania Fire and Rescue Force, which operates under the Ministry of Home Affairs. President Magufuli said the project was authorized by officials in the Ministry of Home Affairs without the knowledge of the Ministry of Finance and Planning, and without the approval of the National Assembly. He said other officials in the Attorney Gener...

Ms Connie Nakyanze Galiwango Mbale District Woman Member of Parliament, Connie Nakyanze Galiwango is living in fear after an anonymous letter threatening her life was dropped at her home in Mbale town. In the letter, the MP was asked to pay Shs30 million or risk getting killed. The unknown criminals are also threatening to burn the legislator’s home and also murder her whole family if she dares to report the matter to police. It’s worth noting that this is the second time such a threatening letter has been dropped at her home in less than. Last year criminals dropped anonymous letter at the home in Mbale district demanding Shs400 million ransom. Ms Galiwango subscribes to the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) and is one of the top politicians in the districts who advocate for Mbale Municipality to be elevated to city status come 2020/2021 financial year. TheMP is married to Hassan Wasswa Galiwango, the Director Finance and Administration at the National Resistance Movement-NRM ...

BitDam Study Exposes High Miss Rates of Leading Email Security Systems. Imagine receiving an email from US VP Mike Pence's official email account asking for help because he has been stranded in the Philippines. Actually, you don't have to. This actually happened. Pence's email was hacked when he was still the governor of Indiana, and his account was used to attempt to defraud several people. How did this happen? Is it similar to how the DNC server was hacked? Email hacking is one of the most widespread cyber threats at present. It is estimated that around 8 out of 10 people who use the internet have received some form of phishing attack through their emails. Additionally, according to Avanan's 2019 Global Phish Report, 1 in 99 emails is a phishing attack. BitDam is aware of how critical emails are in modern communication. BitDam published a new study on the email threat detection weaknesses of the leading players in email security, and the findings command atten...

Read Full Details Below Here 👇👇👇👇 Authorities in Rwanda have blocked cattle destined to Bujumbura in Burundi from transiting through the Rwandan territory, SoftPower News has learnt. The incident happened on Sunday when Uganda Revenue Authority’s Customs and Excise department in Uganda cleared the the exportation of 133 cattle to Burundi in transit through Rwanda through Gakitumba border point, only for Rwandan authorities to deny them transit. The cows were being transported on 7 FUSO trucks. According to our impeccable source (name withheld on request), Rwanda first cleared documents for the cows to transit to Burundi and allowed them through before shifting positions as though the officers were getting fresh orders from other top officials in Rwanda. “They cleared all the cows but we were surprised to see armed security personnel blocking the vehicles along the way and ordered the trucks to return to Uganda,” he said while on his way to Uganda with the animals. He explai...

Former commander of the Police Flying Squad Unit, ACP Herbert Muhangi. Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Herbert Muhangi, the former commander of the Police Flying Squad Unit, has again been granted temporary freedom after the General Court Martial reinstated his bail. The military court sitting in Makindye, was presided over by Lt Gen Andrew Gutti. Muhangi who was in the morning in company of his sureties ACP Elvis Byamugisha and Emmanuel Muheirwe a lecturer at Makerere University, is expected back in court on February 10 this year for mention. Muhangi was first arrested by by the Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence (CMI) in June 2018 and charged before the Court Martial with aiding and abetting kidnap and repatriation of Rwandan refugees back to Rwanda against their own will. He is accused alongside former Inspector General of Police, Gen Kale Kayihura, former Director of Crime Intelligence in Police, Col Atwooki Ndahura, SSP Nixon Agasirwe and others. Kayihura and Ndah...

MPs; Patrick Nsamba Oshabe, Theodore Ssekikubo, Monica Amoding and John Baptist Nambeshe. The ruling political party, National Resistance Movement (NRM) has changed its position on the 30 party members who did not vote for the removal of Presidential age limits in 2017, to allow them attend the forthcoming National Conference, at least according to government spokesperson Ofwono Opondo. MPs who include among others James Kaberuka, Lowila Oketayot, Patrick Nsamba, Susan Amero, Anthony Ssemuli, James Acidri, Theodore Ssekikubo, Denis Sabiiti, Connie Nakayenze, Chemutai Evelyn, Gafabusa Richard went against a position by all the party organs to support the Bill that repealed Presidential age limits from the constitution. The constitutional age caps would bar President Museveni, 76, from standing for President in next year’s presidential elections. During the second meeting of the 3rd National Conference last week, NRM Secretary General Justine Kasule Lumumba explained that the par...

Here in London to take part in the proceedings of first ever UK-Africa Investment Summit. This summit brings together businesses, governments and international institutions to display and promote the wide range and quality of investment opportunities across Africa.  Am confident that this summit will mobilize new and substantial investment which will eventually create jobs for Ugandan youths and at the same time not only boost trade and investment but also good relations between Uganda and Uk.